Athletes defy age, gravity at Dew Tour PlayStation Pro

Dew Tour PlayStation Pro: Today-Sunday, Amway Arena

October 16, 2008|By Woody Wommack, Special To The Sentinel

Long before the days of reality shows, clothing lines and big-time endorsement deals, when skateboarding wasn't considered a sport, and the idea of BMX in the Olympics would have sparked laughter, they were just getting started.

Back then, they were teens having fun. Now they're the elder statesmen of the AST Dew Tour, and with the tour's season finale, the PlayStation Pro, at Amway Arena today through Sunday, these competitors show that in sports, age and experience can trump youth and athleticism.

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Bucky Lasek, 35, has been a force in the skateboarding world since debuting in 1990. Despite being a good all-around skater, he has focused solely on skateboard vert the past few years, winning the Dew Cup -- given to the season points leader of each discipline on the Dew Tour -- in 2005 and '06.

"[Skateboarding] was always popular to us, but it became a big thing," Lasek said. "It's not something that we never thought would happen. We were always the outcasts."

Lasek enters the PlayStation Pro with a five-point lead over Bob Burnquist for the Dew Cup.

"I'm pretty much at the top of my game right now, so I don't plan on quitting," Lasek said. "The great thing about skateboarding is that you can go out and do something different every day. It's like pizza. You never really get sick of it."

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As one of the first international skateboarding stars, the Brazilian-born Burnquist is still one of the most recognized athletes on tour. A victory at the PlayStation Pro likely would secure Burnquist his first Dew Cup.

Burnquist, 32, once jumped off a ramp into the Grand Canyon. He said that despite turning pro at 15, he hasn't lost his love of the sport.

"This is a way that I can express myself physically," he said. "It's addicting in that way. I have to keep creating over and over again.

"It's endless. I don't think the energy will ever go away."

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Andy Macdonald is the only athlete on tour to have skateboarded in the White House. As part of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Macdonald was a guest of President Clinton in 1999.

Macdonald, 35, turned pro 14 years ago and is third in the vert standings.

"There's way more in terms of distractions," Macdonald said of the changes he has seen in skateboarding. "Ninety-five percent of us started doing this because we love it, and when other stuff gets in the way, you just have to remember why you started this in the first place."

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BMX vert rider Dennis McCoy, 41, is the oldest competitor on the Dew Tour. While some might think that the age difference might create a void, it's actually the opposite.

"There are a lot of people pulling me in different directions, but Dennis is one of the people I listen to, that I trust as a friend," said Mike Spinner, a BMX park rider.

McCoy, 22 years after turning pro, is fifth in BMX vert heading into this week.

"There's no end in sight for me at this moment," he said. "I get asked that a lot because I'm the elder statesman. I'm more motivated at this point this year than I was last year or the year before that."